FREEDOMS BASED ON CRIME MUST COME TO AN END
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
18.09.2007
Events that have occurred in Turkey over in the past week are enough
for those striving for democracy to urge for the installation of the
supremacy of the law in my country.
Last week the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the acquittals
of Professor Ýbrahim Kabaoðlu and Professor Baskýn Oran on charges
relating to a report on minorities. This report, prepared by a human
rights advisory body affiliated with the Prime Ministry, threatens
the indivisibility of the state with its suggestion of broadening
the definition of "minority," the Supreme Court of Appeals stated in
its ruling.
Again last week, a song sung by Turkish singer Ýsmail Turut, coupled
with a video, was uploaded to YouTube.
The song and the video scenes hailed the murder suspects of Hrant
Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist killed in Ýstanbul in January
of this year.
Sabah daily portrayed the Turut event and the Supreme Court of Appeals
decision in a striking way on its front page under the headline,
"This is the clear and present danger." The article noted, "While
Baskýn Oran’s report is seen as a clear and present danger, the video
and song that praise political murders are openly aired." (Sabah,
Sept. 16, 2007)
Finally acting on media reports, Ýstanbul’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office
launched an investigation yesterday into singer Turut and the lyricist
of the song praising Dink’s murder suspects.
In the midst of government efforts to introduce a new constitution
to replace the 1982 document dictated by the military, these events
once again remind us how crucial it is to change the mindset of those
who are provoking or staying indifferent to unlawful acts. We should
establish a mechanism that has been forcing those to act in line
with the supremacy of the rule of law instead of paving the way for
legalizing unlawful acts.
The primary emphasis should be given to education, through which
every Turk should be taught what human rights means and what the grave
consequences of their violation will mean for the country’s prosperity.
Another striking event took place recently when retired noncommissioned
officers took the military to the European Court of Human Rights. The
Turkish Retired Noncommissioned Officers Association (TEMAD) finally
decided to go to the European court when it lost its 40-year-long
legal battle in Turkey over its search to participate in the running
or the Turkish Armed Forces Assistance Center (OYAK) and fully benefit
from its funds. (Umur Talu, Sabah, Sept. 17, 2007)
OYAK is a military-controlled fundraising board turned big business.
Noncommissioned officers members comprise almost 70 percent of the
strength of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the basic funds of
OYAK come from compulsory contributions from TSK members. But TEMAD
has failed in its long fight to fully benefit from the funds created
from the salaries of its members and to participate in the management
of OYAK. (Umur Talu, Sabah, Sept. 17, 2007)
TEMAD has decided to continue its struggle in Strasbourg.
Dengir Mir Mehmet Fýrat, deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AK Party), said over the weekend that a draft
constitution has now emerged that reflects the will of the political
authority.
"The new constitution will be individual-centered, supportive of
freedoms, while deepening democracy, institutionalizing the legal
state concept with a civilian nature."
Fýrat’s description of the new constitution sounds good, but another
AK Party deputy, Husrev Kutlu, said during a weekend meeting in
Ankara that he did not believe a "very civilian and very democratic"
constitution would emerge." (ANKA news agency, Sept. 16, 2007)
"Because," Kutlu said, "those involved in the constitution drafting
board will have the concern of ‘What will the military think?’ while
debating each article of the document. Thus I am concerned that we
will not have the constitution that we have been longing for. The
biggest problem in Turkey is who will protect us (the Turks) from
those protectors," he said, in a reference to military trusteeship; the
Turkish military sees itself as the guarantor of the secular republic.
Indeed, most of the debate over the new constitution has centered
on issues that could have touched upon the military’s strong role in
Turkey’s political life.
Though there are some changes being made in the constitution that might
lessen the military’s intervention in the political life, as Kutlu
mentioned, courageous steps to end military trusteeship may take time.
There are some other shortcomings that should be corrected in the
draft constitution, such as gender rights, which currently portray
women as a group that needs to be protected rather than seeing women
as individuals deserving of equal rights with men.
The recent events, coupled with introducing a civilian constitution
to the country, highlight the vital nature of the changes that need
to be made in our own minds regarding respect for the rule of law.
–Boundary_(ID_7jMpqlL7iMV8/3R/FgIU8g)–